Men's Second Style

You may remember an announcement not too long ago regarding a quality freebie, a men’s bronze pendant necklace by dionysia Elytis.  At the time, dionysia was just starting to design jewelry for men, and we had some fascinating chats about men and their likes and dislikes.  Apparently I managed not to dissuade her entirely, as she has created a total of four different sets of matched jewelry pieces for men.

dionysia’s design approach is different from that of some other designers whose work I love–her pieces are simple and sturdy rather than delicate or elaborate.  The bold shapes allow her beautifully detailed textures to take center stage. Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t ever let Ryan know, dear reader, but our night out on the clubs and its aftermath have indeed left me more than somewhat intoxicated and tired from the top of my spinning head to the tips of my danced-out feet. If only these Supersprints by Detour Sideways had come to my attention sooner! Their clean minimalist lines and scuff-resistant shiny exterior might even have escaped the notice of franks places’s style police for formal wear (well, perhaps not the pink ones). I could have used their soft yet firm support on the dance floor; and, as you may know, there are times when I certainly could have used the ability to run swiftly. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m back again, this time with a review of JHZ. JHZ is a small store that advertises as selling High Definition clothes for men. The style is somewhat urban with baggy, worn jeans and tight T shirts.

Some of the shirts they sell are branded with first life brand logos. I won’t cover these by blog policy. I’ll cover the jeans, some original t shirts and some layered tees though. The store also makes some accessories, of which I’m showing the bracelets in my review.

I’ll start with the jeans. The texture is quite ‘crispy’ and sharp. The only blurry area I saw on the jeans was around the crotch, but that was completely the fault of the SL mesh. I’m sure we’ve all seen how SL distorts baggy or loose clothing. Since the pants are modify enabled I fixed it for myself by lowering the crotch height from 33 to 15. Read the rest of this entry »

Domch kicked my ass. Plain and simple. 93 to 5. I gotta hand it to him — the pics were amazing. As good as they were on the site, I had to shrink them for standards purposes and they are stunning at full size. I almost voted for him myself, actually. The man deserves his trophy. Enjoy the cookies, Domch — I didn’t put laxatives in them this time Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been picking up a variety of items with interesting skull-motif artwork lately, and not just because Halloween is coming. (Two of my favorite recent acquisitions are the skull-decorated high-tops and belt by Menno Ophelia.) The skull and skeleton are fascinating figures in art, especially in Mexican Day of the Dead artwork, which I see a lot of in Los Angeles. I think their use and appearance in artwork, and our response to them, says something interesting, even revealing about our paradoxical fear of and fascination with the idea of Death. (Whoah, sorry, I didn’t mean to get all philosophical on you there.) This week, I’ve added to my growing collection one of Tyreak Takashi’s new sculpted neckties, just out at The Syndicate. Five different designs are currently available, but I found myself immediately clicking “Buy” on the one called “Skully”…although in fairness I was awfully close on the pink cupcake. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not often that Mr. Oh and I have the opportunity to get out and tear around inworld together, wreaking havoc as we go. (Living on opposite sides of the “real world” will have that effect.) I am somewhat saddened by this.

—Well, thank you, Ryan; most kind of you to say, although there are those who might argue that, all things considered, it’s for the better that our teamwork is limited by the realities of geography and time zones and…

Let’s let the good readers judge that for themselves, my friend. After all, it was all in good fun.

—Well certainly on my part, of course, but… Read the rest of this entry »

Most folks tend to associate cowboys with “gunslingers” cuz of Western movies. I’d think that between the cattle drives, working around the ranch, and just tending to cattle a cowboy ends up pretty damn busy. In fact, that may be why Domch Raymaker of SLMen fame couldn’t make it to the throwdown on Friday. But, here he is on Sunday with an awesome entry. Read the rest of this entry »

There was a time when you could count the Great Cobblers of SL on one or maybe two hands, especially if you were talking about shoes for men. Eponymous Trenchmouth. Fallingwater Cellardoor. Funk Schnook. swaffette Firefly. To name just a few of my own longtime favorites. These days, there are a lot more designers out there doing interesting and creative work in every imaginable area, including shoes for men. To this I say: “Say thankya.”

Sculpted prims in particular are making possible sophisticated shoe designs with smoothly shaped forms that only a small handful of designers have accomplished–and this no doubt tediously–with standard prim construction. (When I consider “just” the challenge of creating the illusion of seamless texture across a complex prim object, it makes my head hurt.) Maris Kanto’s “Gallop” dress shoes are impressively sculpted lace-ups, long, sleek and elegant, perfect for pairing with formal attire, dress or business suits, or lending class to a pair of jeans. Read the rest of this entry »

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No really though, Domch’s RL got a bit busy lately so we’re rescheduling the throwdown for Sunday. Since there was no provision for this in the rules, I figure it seems fair to a) start the next throwdown cycle from today and b) still end current one next Friday, since a shorter time for gathering for votes seems to be an appropriate “penalty”. Any opinions?

Free to a good home–one kittyboy, male (natch), unaltered, house trained, occasionally sulky.  Good sense of humor, Protestant work ethic, has his own wardrobe.  Affectionate but kind of a handful.  Answers when he feels like it to Ryan and Hey Dumbass.  Call after 6pm SLT.

I love it when an outfit comes together.  I started with the fab new “Deadman Walking” layered jacket by Juwan Lane, because once I tried it on I realized I didn’t want to take it off–maybe ever.  (I then realized I couldn’t think of anything that completed the look and felt “right”…but more on that in a moment.)  The lovingly detailed jacket has gorgeous, almost velvety-looking fabric texture all around and big, bold artwork in back.  I’m also wearing the optional “puffer” shirt, which fills out the sleeves and adds just a little bulk.  The jacket’s shading is neither male- nor female-specific, and the prim collar with flexi tie is included in both male and female versions.  I found that the tie called for some non-trivial but not terribly difficult adjustment via Edit Linked Parts, so the tie wouldn’t poke through to the inside of the collar.  Permissions are Modify / Copy / No Transfer.  Juwan’s layered jackets are available in five different styles (L$200 each) at Ju Ju’s Closet (HollandCoast 2 65, 188, 32).

Read the rest of this entry »